78 



THE NATURE BOOK 



the move, and when flit- 

 ting from one bush, stone 

 or clod to another, the 

 white base of its tail and 

 back are easily observable, 

 showing up in bright con- 

 trast to the black flight 

 feathers in the wing and 

 at the end of the tail. 



The Stonechat's tail is 

 whole-coloured, dark 

 brown, though there is a dash of white 

 where tail and body imite ; the Whin- 

 chat has the base of the tail feathers 

 white, partly concealed from view in 

 flight by the brown tail coverts. It has 

 two white bars on the wing coverts, the 

 Stonechat one, and the Wheatear none. 



The whole upper plumage of the 

 Wheatear is pale bluish grey, in the 

 Whinchat it is brown tinged with rusty 

 red, especially on throat and breast, and 

 there is an almost white stripe over 

 the eye. The Stonechat is more brightly 

 and patchily clad, with black head and 

 throat, chestnut-coloured breast, and 

 the sides of the neck, as well as the wings, 

 splashed with white. 



The call note of all three is a some- 

 what similar 

 "chack" — 

 hence their 

 family name 

 of " Chats." 

 All three are 

 frequenters 

 of the open 

 country, the 

 Wheatear de- 

 lighting i n 

 sandy heaths 

 and warrens, 

 especially 

 near the 

 coast; the 

 Whinchat, as 

 its name im- 

 plies, may be 

 looked for 

 where Whin or furze abounds, but it 

 also occurs in heath and grassy dis- 

 tricts ; whilst the Stonechat is seldom 

 found residing except where poor soil 

 encourages furze to flourish. 



Movements of the tail are characteristic 

 of each of these restless birds. The 



MALE REDSTART. 



A YOUNG REED WARBLER 



Wheatear, more a bird 

 of the ground than the 

 other two, takes short 

 runs, moving rapidly, 

 stopping suddenly, and 

 flirting its tail meanwhile. The Whin- 

 chat and Stonechat both love to perch on 

 the topmost twig of any bush that they 

 frequent, and both are equally fidgety, 

 not merely in the twitching of their tails, 

 but in moving from one coign of vantage 

 to another, sometimes taking insects in 

 the air after the manner of the Flycatcher. 



All three are early breeders, especially 

 the Stonechat, and the nests of both it 

 and the Whinchat are very difficult to 

 find because so generally well concealed 

 and protected, either on or very near the 

 ground, beneath the prickly gorse bushes. 

 The Wheatear actually goes to ground for 

 breeding purposes, selecting when possible 

 the mouth of a disused rabbit's burrow 

 for depositing its dull pale blue eggs, the 

 shells of which are of rougher texture and 

 less frequently tinged with indistinct 

 patches of reddish brown towards the 

 larger end, than is the case with the 

 smaller and more elongated and slightly 

 darker shaded eggs of Whin- and Stone- 

 chat. 



The male Redstart might be mistaken 

 for the male Stonechat, in that both are 

 red and black and white, but the respective 

 colours are differently placed, and the 

 haunts and habits of the two birds are 

 distinct. The Redstart's distinctive mark 

 is hidden in its name — for " start " means 

 tail, as the more expressive, but more 

 local, designation " Firetail " brings out. 

 The red tail is common to both sexes, 

 and although the bird itself is no larger 

 than the Stonechat, its tail is longer in 

 proportion. It is a summer visitor and 

 a frequenter of gardens and orchards, 

 and though not common it is widely 



